Hoist the Colours
by OtakuDrag0n
Summary: Jack's trapped in the Locker, yet she is still needed in the world of living. "Did no one come to save me just because they missed me?" fem!Jack, (retelling of At World's End)(I do not own cover image)
1. Singapore

**So... yay! Long chapter, beta'd by KappasRule~ I finally got around to doing this. I hope my writing has improved since the ****_Do You Fear Death? _****One! I hope you all like this~ Please review~**

**I do not own POTC**

_The king and his men stole the queen from her bed, _  
><em>And bound her in her bones…<em>  
><em>The seas be ours, and by the powers….<em>  
><em>Where we will, we'll roam…<em>  
><em>Yo, ho, haul together, hoist the colours high…<em>  
><em>Heave, ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die.<em>

The last thing she remembered was roar of the godforsaken creature himself, the Kraken. She didn't remember much after that.

She awoke with a start, finding herself on the deck of her ship. _Well… at least there aren't any bodies anywhere. _

She was quite positive that she was in Davy Jones' locker. However, she had to stand up to make sure. With a heave, she lifted herself up to look over the edge of her boat, which in fact was coated in black. Hence why she renamed it the Black Pearl.

Her eyes widened when she saw nothing. The ground was plain white, and there was a tint of blue in the sky. Suddenly she found that she couldn't stand, and collapsed back to the ground. Her eyes began to water at the sudden realization. "I'm dead…" She muttered. She couldn't feel any wind or breath.

She was stuck in the middle of nowhere. Before long she could end up mad. _Someone help me…_ She thought before curling up into a ball.

~*~

_Some men have died, and some are alive,_  
><em>And others sail the sea…<em>  
><em>With keys to the cage, and the devil to play…<em>  
><em>We lay to Fiddler's green! <em>  
><em>Yo, ho, haul together, hoist the colours high…<em>  
><em>Heave, ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die.<em>

A woman's voice could be heard in a quiet, murky port of Singapore. The waters were green, and the air was humid. She sat in a small boat with a large sunhat to cover her eyes, and rolled along the water using a long pole.

Houses were raised on rickety platforms. Though there were few people out, they continued on with their daily business.

The woman in the boat was known as Elizabeth Swann… unbeknownst to anyone else in Singapore.

She finally reached the dock and tied her boat to the bow-line.

_The bell has been raised, from its watery grave… _  
><em>Do you hear the sepulchral tone?<em>  
><em>And turn your sails towards home! <em>  
><em>Yo, ho, haul together, hoist the colours high…<em>

"Heave, ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die."

The new rustic voice made her jump and reach for her knife. Three figures emerged from a nearby sewer pipe, scowling. "A dangerous song to be singing, and any who are ignorant of its meaning. Particularly a woman. Particularly a woman alone." The leader, she assumed, sneered.

She was about to retort something along the lines of, 'Well, Jack Sparrow is a woman; people don't seem to care about her!'

However, a new voice stopped her. "What makes you think she's alone?" A tall man with a large hat appeared grinning at them.

"You protect her?" The leader asked.

"What makes you think I need protection?" She hissed, pulling out her knife and holding it at his throat.

"Your master is expecting us." Elizabeth's companion, Barbossa, said. He turned to Elizabeth. "And an unexpected death would cast a slight pall on our meeting." She hesitantly lowered her knife at those words.

"You're Captain Barbossa." He noted.

"Aye. And she be Elizabeth Swann. And Sao Feng promised us safe passage." Barbossa explained.

"For as long as it suits him."

They turn to follow him, but suddenly he stopped. East India Trading Company agents were just going past, so they decide to go through the sewer instead.

They stopped before entering the bathhouse. Their leader, Huang, told them to hand over their weapons. Barbossa and Elizabeth handed over their swords and pistols, before Huang gestured to Elizabeth's coat. She gave him a look of innocence, which Huang didn't believe.

"Did you think because she is a woman, we would not suspect her of treachery?" Huang scolded. "Don't think we haven't learned, Barbossa." Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. "Remove, please." He demanded.

When they finally were permitted to enter the bathhouse, Elizabeth had only a short-robe on. She felt very self-conscious with all the half-n*** men surrounding her. All of them, however, had a dragon-tattoo…

Pipes were rusted, and all the tubs were covered in algae and rusty.

They stepped into an area filled with steam. The seam dissipated and revealed the pirate himself, Sao Feng. He looked to be drenched in sweat. "Captain Sao Feng. Thank you for granting me this audience."

"Captain Barbossa! Welcome to Singapore." He greeted with a smile, and turned to a nearby guard. "More steam." The guard pounded the wall a couple times. Soon steam rushed into the room from the pipes. "I understand that you have a request to make of me…?"

"And a proposal to make to you. I've a venture underway, and I find myself in need of a ship and crew." Barbossa stated.

"And you consider me worthy of such an honor? Ship and crew…" He chuckled. "Huh. That's an odd coincidence."

"Because you happen to have a ship and crew you don't need?" Elizabeth asked in a dangerous tone. Barbossa gave her a warning glance.

"No. Because earlier this day, not far from here, a thief broke into my most revered uncle's temple, and tried to make off with these…"A guard gave him old, rustic, wooden charts. "Navigational charts. The route to the farthest gate. Wouldn't it be amazing if this venture of yours took you to the world beyond this one?"

"It would strain credulity, at that." Barbossa said. Sao Feng raised an eyebrow, but gestured to a guard near the well. A man was lifted out of the well, gasping for breath.

It was William Turner. "This is the thief. Is his face familiar to you?" Sao Feng asked. Neither of seemed to recognize him. He picked up a large fid. "No? Well, I guess he has no further need for it."

He pulled back his arm, and Elizabeth let out a yelp. All pleasantness disappeared from him. "You come into my city, you seek my indulgence and largesse, and you betray my hospitality? You betray me?"

"Sao Feng, I assure you, we had no idea-"

"-That he would be caught!" He enraged. "You intend to attempt a voyage to Davy Jones' Locker. And I cannot help but wonder… why?" Barbossa tossed him something small and silver. "A piece of eight. It's true then?"

"Aye. The time is upon us. We must convene the Brethren Court."

Sao Feng narrowed his eyes. "More steam!" After the steam filled the room, he said, "The Court has not met in my lifetime."

"Nor mine."

"And when it last did, my father told me it ended… badly." He hesitated.

"But before that, it produced the Code, which has served us well… and it was the very first meeting what gave us no less than a rule of the sea herself, didn't it? And now the rule is being challenged."

"East India Trading Company…" Sao Feng said.

Barbossa nodded. "Lord Cutler Beckett is a pox on us all."

"What can any of us do?" He asked.

"You can fight." Elizabeth stated. All eyes turned to her in surprise. She stepped forward. "You are Sao Feng, the Pirate Lord of Singapore. You command in the Age of Piracy, where bold Captains sail free waters, where waves are not measured in feet but increments of fear, and those who pass the test become legend." A man stepped forward to restrain her, but she shrugged him off. "Would you have that era come to an end on your watch? But here you are: your ships crowd the harbor, rotting on their lines, while you cower in your bath water!"

"Elizabeth Swann… there is more to you than meets the eye, isn't there? And the eye does not go wanting." He said, smiling at her. He turned to Barbossa. "But I can't help but notice you have failed to answer my question. What is it you seek in Davy Jones' Locker?"

Barbossa hesitated, it was Will who answered. "Jack Sparrow." Time seemed to freeze at her name. "She's one of the Pirate Lords."

Sao Feng looked enraged. "The only reason I would want Jack Sparrow returned from the realm of the dead is so I can send her back myself!"

"Exactly why we preferred her name go unmentioned." Barbossa said.


	2. Lost and Doomed

**Beta'd (which took FOREVER) by KappasRule. Hope you enjoy :) **

**I do not own POTC**

Sao Feng glanced to the side, and noticed that ink dripped down the shoulders of one of the men sitting in a bath. "So you admit you have deceived me." He said.

Barbossa flared. "Jack Sparrow holds one of the nine pieces of eight! She failed to pass it on to a successor before she died. And so we must go and fetch her back-"

"WEAPONS!"

Suddenly, Barbossa and Elizabeth are surrounded by a circle of weapons pointed at them. "I assure you are intentions are strictly honorable-"

Stopping midsentence, swords flew up from the floorboards and into his hands. He and Elizabeth both had two swords in their hands. Nothing was 'strictly honorable' about this anymore. Elizabeth tossed one of her swords to Will, who was still hanging in the well.

Sao Feng made his way to the man with the melting tattoo, and held the point of the fid to his face. "Drop your weapons, or I kill your man!"

This man had nothing to do with the trio. "Kill him. He's not our man." Barbossa stated bluntly.

"If he's not with you, and he's not with us… who is he with?" Will asked.

At that moment a group of red-coated soldiers stormed in and crashed through windows. Almost instantly, the pirates turn back-to-back to face the new threat, the East India Trading Company. Sao Feng spun away from the traitor to fight.

Then there was an explosion, causing the bath house to rock. Half of the floorboards fell under, making a convenient ramp. Gibbs, Marty, Cotton, Pintel, and Ragetti charged into battle, firing their pistols.

The battle became chaotic.

In the midst of the battle, Will was pulled to the side by Sao Feng, a knife to his throat. "Odd coincidence, isn't it? The East India Trading Company finds me the day you show up in Singapore."

"It is coincidence only." Will stated firmly. He twisted away from his hold, and took out his own knife. Sao Feng blocked it, and continued to hold Will down. "You want to cut a deal with Beckett? You need what I offer."

Sao Feng sneered. "You crossed Barbossa, you're willing to cross….her… why should I expect any better?"

"They are in the way of what I want. You're helping me get it."

"You betray me, and I will slit your throat."

Will smirked. "Then we have an understanding." They both lowered their knives, and Sao Feng handed over the charts to Will.

Quickly, Will met up with Barbossa and Elizabeth at the docks. "You have the charts!" Barbossa said incredulously.

"And better." Will gestured to the pirate Huang. "A ship and a crew."

"Where's Sao Feng?" Elizabeth asked.

"He will cover our escape, and then meet us at Shipwreck Cove." Will answered.

Before they could say anything else, Huang said, "This way, be quick." The pirates obeyed and followed him discreetly.

They boarded the Chinese Junk ship, known as Hai Ping. Behind them, the sky glowed from the fires coming from Singapore.

On deck, Barbossa approached Will with a stern look. "You weren't supposed to get caught." He said.

"It worked out the way I wanted." Will said.

A good amount of time passed since their conversation, and now as they approached a glacier, snow fell from the sky. Everyone suffered under the intense cold. Everyone shivered. A man's foot froze off. "No one said anything about cold." Pintel complained.

"I'm sure there's a good reason for us suffering." Ragetti said.

"Why didn't the obeah woman just bring back Jack the way she brought back Barbossa?"

"Because Barbossa was only dead." Said 'obeah woman' spoke up. "Jack Sparrow be taken body and soul, to a place not of death, but of punishment. The worst fate a person can conjure for themselves, stretching on forever… that's what awaits in Davy Jones' Locker." With that, she strode away.

"I knew there was a good reason." Ragetti compiled.

Nearby, Will rotated the circles on the map. "Nothing here is set. It can't be as accurate as modern charts."

"No. But it leads to more places." Huang said mysteriously as he moved away. Will turned his focus back onto the map and furrowed his brows at one of the inscribed poems. "_Over the edge, back, over again, sunrise sets, flash of green_. Do you care to interpret, Barbossa?"

"Ever gazed upon a green flash, Mister Gibbs?" Barbossa turned to Gibbs.

"I reckon I've seen my share. Happens on rare occasion, at the last glimpse of sunset, a green flash shoots up at the sky. Some go their whole lives and never see it. Some claim to have seen it who ain't. Some say-"

"-it signals when a soul comes back from the dead!" Pintel exclaimed. Gibbs shot him a glare. "Sorry."

Pintel inched away next to Ragetti. "Don't they get it? It's a riddle. Riddles are fun. _Over the edge, back again_-"

"Riddles are not fun! The way it always goes is some poor bloke ends up dead, but just beforehand he realizes no, I wasn't supposed to listen to the sirens, I wasn't supposed to take the pot o' gold, but by then it's too late and he dies in a horrible and oftentimes ironical manner, and in this case, you and I be the poor bloke!" By the time Pintel finished his rant, the ship was silent and all eyes glued onto him. Barbossa grinned.

"See, Mister Turner? We will find a way. It's not getting to the land of the dead is the problem…it's getting back!"

Hours passed, and the ice passage was behind them. It was dark now, and somewhat peaceful. Elizabeth stood beneath a lantern at the rail. Before long, Will joined her. They didn't speak for a while, the silence envelope them.

"How long will we continue not talking?" Will finally asked.

Elizabeth shifted her weight. "Once we rescue Jack, everything will be fine."

Will contemplated this. "Then, we will rescue her."

Elizabeth nodded, and turned to step away from the rail. Will leaned forward, all his weight on the rail. Then he noticed something on the horizon… a line of white mist. "Barbossa! Ahead!"

"Aye, these be the waters I know. We're good and lost now." Barbossa said proudly.

"Lost?" Elizabeth asked, unsure if being lost is a good or bad thing.

"For certain you have to be lost, to find a place that can't be found. Elseways everyone would know where it was, aye?" Barbossa laughed. Gibbs looked over the rail.

"We're gaining speed." He stated.

"To stations! All hands! To stations!" Will yelled. Now, it was unmistaken that the sound of raging water drowned out all sounds on deck.

They were heading towards a waterfall.

All pirates struggled to comply Will's orders. "Belay that! Let her run straight and true!" Barbossa yelled.

"Hard a-port!" Will called.

The ship turned, but not sharply enough, and was taken into the current of the never ending waterfall.

Elizabeth approached Barbossa. "You've doomed us all!"

"Don't be so unkind! Ye may not survive to pass this way again… and these be the last friendly words ye'll hear…"

Everyone has given up on trying to fight the current. Will held tightly onto the wheel, and everyone else held on tightly as the ship tilted dangerously over the edge. The most insane, Barbossa, laughed as they fell to their deaths while everyone else screamed for their lives.


	3. Madness

**Beta'd by KappasRule! Dedicated to my few readers out there, enjoy, and review~**

**I do not own POTC**

She's started to have illusions. Yet, she doesn't care anymore. It was more entertaining than lying on the deck of her ship and thinking depressing thoughts about herself.

Currently, her sail was flapping in the wind. That was the only way she could tell there was some wind in this godforsaken place.

"Boatswain! Haul the halyard, slacken braces!" She called up.

Someone else called from above, in fact, it was an exact mirror image of herself. "Aye captain! Slacken braces, ladies, make all! How does she lie?"

Another voice joined in, and Jack whipped her head to the source. "A fair wind and a following sea!"

Jack nodded. Today was starting to feel like a good day. Feeling cheery, she walked down the deck of her ship, until something caught her eye. It was down at the rigging, but noticeable many miles away. "Miss Sparrow, come here." She gestured for her to come forward.

The boatswain from earlier obeyed. "Aye, Captain!"

Jack jumped down from the rigging. No longer cheerful, her mood dampened, she reached for the knot in the line that she had noticed. "What say ye about the condition of the knot on this bow line?" She asked, strained.

"It be proper to my eyes, ma'am." The boatswain said.

While he spoke, Jack tugged on the line and the knot unraveled. "Proper? It is neither proper nor suitable, ma'am! It is not acceptable nor adequate. It is, in obvious fact, an abomination."

Noticing the tension, another Jack approached them. A kind-hearted, honest one. "Begging your pardon, ma'am. Perhaps if you gave the woman another choice-"

Even angrier, Jack said, "It's that sort of thinking that got us into this mess." At her boiling point, she drew her gun, and pulled the trigger on the boatswain Jack. She stumbled over the railing, and fell. "You have caused us to lose speed and therefore time. Precious time, which cannot be recovered once lost. Do you understand? Aye, Captain. DO YOU NOW?"

Everything was an illusion. She had been driven insane. "It will have to be redone. All of it. All of it! And let this serve as a lesson to the lot of you! It's the doldrums, ma'am, it has the entire crew on edge- Stow it! I have no sympathy for any of you feculent maggots-" She stepped onto the rail, and grabbed a rope to steady herself. "-and no more patience to pretend otherwise!"

Without hesitation, she jumped off of the railing, holding onto the rope. When she landed, a jolt sent up both of her legs and so her knees buckled under upon landing. She sighed, taking the rope to the front of the ship and helplessly began to pull it forward. The ship didn't budge.

She sighed again. "No wind…" She slumped to the ground, only to notice a perfectly smooth stone an arm's reach away. Jack raised an eyebrow. Surely, it wasn't there before.

She stood and reached for it, then quickly tossed the stone as far away as she could. Jack turned away from it in satisfaction. When she heard it rolling back towards her, she whipped herself back around just in time to see the rock hatch like an egg, and form into a crab. It clicked at her. "Perfect. What would my torment be without unusual crabs here to mock me." She stated, unsurprised and tired.

She grabbed a handful of sand, and flung it at the crab. The crab flinched back. Jack, entirely done with the Locker, collapsed and hugged her knees into her chest. However, she eventually lay down and fell asleep.

Not long after she closed her eyes, she felt some shadow block the sun from her. Jack fluttered her eyes open. Her eyes widened when she saw the prow of her ship loom above her. She stood up, completely shocked to see the Black Pearl drifting across the wasteland atop thousands of chittering crabs.

She stood there dumbfounded for a moment. After a second, she broke out of her stupor, and chased after her ship. "Wait!" She called out to the crabs.

Nearby, everyone who had fallen over the waterfall just recovered and were now taking in the desolate, godforsaken view. "This truly be a godforsaken place."

Elizabeth breathed. "I don't see Jack. I don't see anyone."

"Not a soul…" Marty said rather ominously.

"She is here… Davy Jones never once gave up what he's took." Barbossa said gravely.

"And does it matter? We are trapped here, by your doing. No different than Jack." Will snapped.

"Witty Jack is closer than you think." Tia Dalma said.

A single crab scuttled across the sand towards her. She picked it up and stroked it, cooing to it like a pet. Behind her, Jack Sparrow herself appeared in the sky, riding the Pearl down the hill of sand atop of thousands of crabs. Everyone stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at her, and watched her get carried off into the ocean.

Once everything was settled, and Jack was back on the beach, she was smiling like a fool. That smile was so contagious, that even Barbossa was smiling along. "Mister Gibbs." She acknowledged, rather sharply. Gibbs whipped his head up and quickly approached her.

"Aye, Captain!"

"I thought so. I expect you can account for your actions?"

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Ma'am?"

"There has been a perpetual and virulent act of discipline upon my vessel! Why? Why is that?"

"Ma'am… you're in Davy Jones' Locker."

"I know that." Jack snapped. "I know where I am and don't think I don't."

"Jack Sparrow."

Jack froze in her tracks, and her blood turned cold. It was him… She turned and her old crewmembers stepped back to reveal Barbossa. "Ah… Hector. It's been too long." Internally, she was screaming,_ why is he here? He should be dead! Why- oh, wait…_

"Yes. Isla De Muerta, remember? You shot me!"

"Psh, I did not." Her eyes trailed away from him and found her best friend instead. "Tia Dalma, out and about! You add an agreeable sense of the macabre to any delirium." Tia Dalma smiled in acknowledgement.

"She thinks we're a hallucination?"

The new voice bought her attention. "Ah, William. Tell me, have you come because you need my help to save a certain distressing damsel? I mean, damsel in distress?" She remembered that was how they first became allies. "Eh, either one."

"No." Will stated firmly.

"Then you wouldn't be here, so you can't be here, Q.E.D., you're not really here." No, they couldn't really be here, in this wretched place with her.

"Jack."

Jack turned to see Elizabeth.

Many thoughts and feelings ran through her mind. Betrayal, thankfulness, hatred, mistrust, recognition, and finally, realization.

She quickly turned away to Gibbs. "The Locker, you say?"

"Aye." Gibbs said. Jack nodded.

"We've come to rescue you!" Elizabeth called.

Jack turned back to her and gave her a wavering smile. "Have you now? That's a good one. Very kind of you. But it would seem that I possess a ship, and you don't, you're the ones in need of rescuing and I'm not sure as I'm in the mood."

"I see my ship, right there." Barbossa pointed to… ahem…. Jack's ship.

Jack didn't seem to take it, since she squinted and looked around her ship. "Can't spot it. Must be a tiny little thing hiding somewhere behind the Pearl." Everyone can sense that there was going to be a fight soon.

That is why Will took the action and stepped in front of Jack. "Jack, listen. Cutler Beckett has taken the heart of Davy Jones. He controls the Flying Dutchman."

Everything came rushing in at once. "He's taking over the seas." Elizabeth stated.

"The song has been sung. The Brethren court is called."

Jack stared wide-eyed, but then she sighed. "I leave you folk alone for just a minute, and look what happens."

"Aye, Jack. The world needs you back something fierce." Gibbs said.

"And you need a crew." Will said stepped back and took a good look at everyone. Will, Barbossa, Pintel, Ragetti, Elizabeth, and Tia Dalma were lined up. She began walking down the line like a drill-Sargent. "Why should I sail with any of you? Four of you have tried to kill me in the past, and one succeeded." She said.

This startled everyone, and currently, she stood in front of the perpetrator. "She hasn't told you? Then you'll have lots to talk about while you're here." She turned to Tia Dalma. "As for you…you're in." She said, without hesitating.

She continued down the line. "Gibbs, you get another chance. Marty, Cotton, all right. And Cotton's parrot, I'm a little iffy, but all right, you're a team-"

She then came across a group of Asian pirates. "And you are?"

"Tai Huang. These are my men."

"Where do your allegiances lie?"

"With the highest bidder."

"I have a ship."

"That makes you the highest bidder."

She smiled. "I like you, you're in. All right. Weigh Anchor! All hands! Stand by to make my way!"

She pulled out her precious compass, and glanced down at it. However, no matter what she does, the needle stayed in place. "Jaaaack." That dreadful voice spoke up. She hesitantly turned to Barbossa, and he held up ancient charts. "Which way you going, Jack?"


	4. Up is Down

**Here's another chapter, beta'd by KappasRule. Please review, let me know what you think~**

**I don't own POTC**

As soon as they made it onto the ship, Barbossa naturally started to call out orders, sending everyone into a hustle-and-bustle. Jack shadowed him, and repeated his orders, only louder. "Trim that sail! Slack the windward brace and sheet! Haul that pennant line!"

Jack, much to everyone's annoyance, repeated it. "Trim that sail! Slack the windward brace and sheet! Haul that pennant line!"

Barbossa suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to Jack. "What are you doing?"

Jack huffed. "The Captain gives orders on the ship."

"The Captain is giving orders." He sneered.

"My ship makes me Captain." She countered.

"They be my charts!"

"Stow it, the both of you, and that's an order! Understand?"

At the new voice, Jack and Barbossa stared at Pintel, slightly dumbfounded. Under the pressure, Pintel backed up and quickly took back what he said. "Sorry! Just, with the Captain issue in doubt and all, thought I'd throw my name in consideration… sorry."

They brushed past him and towards the railing. Barbossa pulled out a telescope and looked over the horizon. Jack, however, took out a much longer one, to which Barbossa only raised an eyebrow at it and shook his head.

Pintel and Ragetti watched the whole ordeal. "This is kind of like the good ol' days." Ragetti said.

"No. Back then, they were much less competitive." Pintel shook his head.

"I guess you're right."

A few hours of hustling passed, and now the sun had fallen over the horizon. The two captains were in the cabin, which was still worn from the Kraken attack. "I see you neglected to take care of my ship." Barbossa stated, noting the holes.

"What, this? Just ventilating. Clear out of the stench of the previous owner, you know. Thinking of putting in French doors, actually. Feel the cross breeze?" Jack asked mockingly.

The door opened, and Gibbs stuck his head in. "Heading Captain?"

At the word 'Captain' both Jack and Barbossa turned their heads. "Two degrees starboard-" Jack began, but was unceremoniously cut off by Barbossa.

"I'm Captain of the starboard side! Two degrees starboard. The _Captain_ will now take the helm." Barbossa ordered.

Jack frowned, but Gibbs saluted twice to recognize both of them. "Aye sir, ma'am!" Then he left the cabin, with the two Captains following him to the helm.

Not much time passes before there are people gathered at the rail, looking at the souls that pass by underwater.

After that, a boat drifted into sight, with a lantern guiding it. Gibbs arrived at the rail with a rifle, about to aim it at the person in the boat. However, Will stopped him. "No. They are not a threat to us, right?" He looked to Tia Dalma for confirmation.

"We are but ghosts to them, they heed us not."

"Best just let them be." Barbossa said. Gibbs just lowered the rifle, yet he kept it ready.

Elizabeth looked to the nearest boat, and found that she recognized the passenger. "My father! We've made it back! Father! Here, look here!"

Jack stood next to her, and placed a consoling hand on her shoulder. "Elizabeth. We're not back yet." She said, and made sure to look right into her eyes. Elizabeth stared back at her, and blinked as realization dawned on her.

Her cry was filled with anguish. "Father!"

The man in the boat was indeed Governor Swann, her father. "Elizabeth! Are you dead?"

"No..." Elizabeth said, her voice wavering.

The Governor nodded at her. She had to follow along the railing to keep up with him. "I think I am." He said.

"No. You can't be."

"There was a chest, you see… How odd. At the time, it seemed so important."

"Come aboard!" Elizabeth cried, and to the others, "Someone, cast a line! Come back with us!"

The crewmen started to prepare a line, but it was too slow for her. She snatched it and tossed it over to her father, however he made no move toward it. "And a heart, and if you stabbed the heart… you would have to sail forever. That's how it worked. Stab the heart and take his place. The Dutchman must have a Captain. Silly thing to die for." He ranted.

_The Dutchman must have a Captain…_ Jack noted solemnly.

"Take the line!" Elizabeth cried, noticing that the rope had slid towards the back of his canoe.

"Elizabeth." He said, gaining her full attention. "When I would reprimand you to obey rules, it was because I did not want you to ever be unhappy. But I should have recognized your willfulness… your courage. I am proud of you, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth shook her head, tears beginning to fall. "The line! Catch the line!" As he slipped away, the line fell into the water. "Father! Come back with us, please! I won't let you go!"

His boat reached the aft of the ship, and Elizabeth ran towards the edge. "She must not leave the ship!" Will reached her before she could climb over the railing.

~*~

The sun had risen, and everyone was parched with thirst. There was no wind, and there were doubts whether they would make it back at all. Ragetti chased the monkey around for his eye back, however, it was really rolling around on the charts that Jack was idly exploring.

She turned the intricate circles, and three words aligned: "_Up is down_." She mouthed. "That's maddeningly unhelpful. Why are all these things never clear?"

"Stab the heart." Jack jumped, her own heart pounding.

However, she looked to her left shoulder, and found another version of herself standing there. She frowned. "What?"

"Don't stab the heart." Another appeared on her right shoulder.

"Come again?" Jack asked, still not quite getting it.

"The Dutchman must have a Captain." The girl on the right stated matter-of-factly.

"That's even more than less than unhelpful." Jack said.

"Sail the seas for eternity." The girl on the left said dreamily.

"Oh, I do love the sea."

"But what about port?"

"I prefer rum. Rum's good." Jack said, suddenly craving rum.

"_Making_ port." Left-Jack corrected herself.

"Where we can get rum, and maybe handsome men. Once every ten years." Right-Jack stated.

"What did she say?" Left-Jack asked.

"Once every ten years." Jack restated.

"Ten years is a long time." Left-Jack said.

"Even longer, given the deficit of rum." Jack said solemnly.

"And handsome men…" Right-Jack said. "Though, you do have the crew. I mean, what about Will?"

"He's got Elizabeth." Jack said.

Right-Jack grinned. "True. Guess that means Barbossa-"

"Shut up." Jack snapped, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks.

"Other than that," Left-Jack began, "eternity is longer still."

"And how will you spend it? Dead, or not?" Right-Jack said, still sneering at her.

Left-Jack contemplated. "The immortal Captain Jack Sparrow…"

Jack smiled. "Ooh, I like that."

"Come sunset, it won't matter." Right-Jack shrugged her shoulders.

Jack glanced at the charts. She noticed something peculiar. A picture of a ship, upside down with rays of sunset behind it. Her eyes widened in realization. "Not sunset. Sundown. And rise… up!" She stood up abruptly and pointed to the horizon. "Over there! What's that? I don't know! What do you think?"

She hurried to the railing, followed by Gibbs, who squinted at the horizon. "Where?" He didn't notice anything. She waited until everyone was at the railing looking. "There, it moved! Suddenly. It's very fast." Jack raced over to the starboard side. The ship tilted slightly. "Thar! Over thar!"

She chased whatever it was back to port side. Everyone followed quickly, tilting the ship again. "What is it?" Elizabeth asked.

"It's not here!" Jack cried.

They ran back and forth. "She's rocking the ship." Pintel noted, trying to steady himself.  
>Barbossa had glanced at the chart, noticing the words <em>Up is down<em>. Gibbs ran past Pintel. "We're rocking the ship!" He yelled in realization.

Barbossa realized it as well. "Aye, she's onto it. All hands together! Time it with the swell!" He moved down to the cargo hold. "Loose the cannon! Unstow the cargo! Let it shift!"

Everyone did as they were told, and everything rolls from port to starboard. Above deck, Pintel and Ragetti had the bright idea to tie themselves upside down on the mast.

The ship was nearly horizontal. After one more push, everyone had to hold on tightly to the railing, as the Pearl tilts all the way over. "And now up, is down!"

The Black Pearl rocked all the way over and into the water.


	5. Not Running

**Now I can be at peace knowing I updated two stories today. Yes. Thanks KappasRule for beta-ing. Please review~ **

**I don't own POTC**

The water enveloped them, as they did all they could to hold onto the railing tightly. Barrels and cannons floated down into the deep, never to be seen again. Everyone held their breaths as long as they could, before they felt the water rush downward, and the Black Pearl was upright again.

Everyone fell back onto the deck with a sudden rush of gravity, slamming right onto the deck. Several objects fell back onto the deck with a thud, and everyone struggled to recover, coughing up water. "Blessed sweet butterflies, we're back!" Gibbs exclaimed.

Jack couldn't believe it either. She felt the true breeze against her face, it almost felt like true freedom. Almost.

She hesitated, but opened her palm to look. She let out a sigh of relief when she found that there was no Black Spot on her hand. "This was your idea, and the fact that I went along does not make you any less stupid." She heard the voice of Pintel, and noticed for the first time that they had tied themselves to the mast.

"Well, it doesn't make you no more smart, neither." Ragetti bickered back.

"Yes it does, my lack of instigating stupid ideas makes me smarter by omission."

Cotton's parrot ruffled its feathers, shaking the water out. She stood, and looked out to the horizon. "Hmph."

"It's a sunrise." Elizabeth said.

The sun was, indeed, just rising above the water. Jack smiled, it felt good to feel free. Her smile mirrored onto everyone else's faces.

However, everyone immediately silenced and the sound of clicking pistols trailed throughout the group as they pointed the weapons at each other. Will pointed his at Barbossa, Barbossa pointed his at Jack, Gibbs pointed his at Barbossa, and Elizabeth also pointed hers at Jack. Jack pointed hers at Will, and drew another to point at Barbossa without hesitation.

Elizabeth picked up another and pointed hers at Barbossa as well. Everyone held their breath, ready to fire at a given moment.

But then, they all laugh, and lower their weapons. Jack was slightly confused, but continued laughing, until they suddenly raised their weapons at each other again.

"All right, then. The Brethren Court is a-gathering at Shipwreck Cove. Jack, you and I be a-going there, and there's no arguing the point." Barbossa stated, right to the point.

Jack frowned. "I is arguing the point. If there's pirates a-gathering, I'm a-pointing my ship the other a-way."

"The pirates are gathering to fight Beckett, and you're a pirate." Elizabeth said firmly. She swung her second pistol to Jack. Jack pursed her lips, but pointed the pistol she aimed at Will at Elizabeth instead. Will reacted by aiming at Jack, and using his second pistol to cover Barbossa. It was like a chain reaction.

"Fight or not, you're not running." Will said.

"If we don't stand together, they'll hunt us down, one by one, 'til there's none left but you."  
>Jack glared daggers at Barbossa. "Then I'll be the last pirate. At least then there will only be one of me."<p>

"Aye, and you'll be fighting Jones alone. How does that figure into your plans?" He sneered.

This didn't waver her. "Still working on it. But I'm not going back to the Locker, Barbossa. Count on that." This would be easy. She could kill him, right now, and he wouldn't bother her any longer. No more of this Brethren Court business.

She fired the gun.

Barbossa flinched, but there was no explosion. Only a resounding 'click' and a spray of water. Jack looked to her pistol in confusion, and fired her other gun to see if it did the same. Everyone fired their guns. It turns out, the powder became wet, and thus, unusable.

"Wet powder." Gibbs commented.

"We've other issues to deal with. We can get back to shooting each other later." Will reasoned.

Pintel seemed disappointed. "Wait, we can still use them as clubs!" He exclaimed, hammering the air to demonstrate. Ragetti did the same, only he hit Pintel on his head.

"Sorry…" He regarded the gun. "Affective though."

~*~

Will, Barbossa, and Jack huddled around the charts. Will indicated an area on the charts to Barbossa and Jack. "There's a freshwater spring on this island, where we can resupply."

Jack grinned. "You can lead the shore party. I'll stay with the ship."

"I'll not be leaving my ship in your command." Barbossa seethed. They both turned to each other, about to fight about who the rightful Captain is.

Will pinched the bridge of his nose. _Not this again…_

"And she'll not be leaving the ship in your command, and here's an idea. You both go, and leave the ship in my command."

They gave Will disbelieving looks. For all Jack could know, he had originally been going on about how he wanted to take her ship and go save his father from Davy Jones.

"Temporarily. Promise." He said.

~*~

Back on the deck, Barbossa stepped to the railing and pulled out his telescope. Jack arrived next to him, somewhat hesitantly. "An uneasy alliance?" Barbossa asked. He lifted the scope to his eye to take a look at the horizon.

"An unholy one." She huffed.

Eventually, they reached the island Will had pointed out. The island's beaches were made of black sand. Several boats reached the turf, and some pirates scramble out. "Criminey!" Pintel explained, noticing something large on the beach.

Jack and Barbossa stepped onto the beach then, and Pintel and Ragetti rushed past them toward the thing. The large, monstrous creature was the Kraken, lain onto the beach like a poor piece of driftwood. Pintel found a stick, and attempted to poke at it. "Careful!" Ragetti warned.

"Ahh, not so tough now, are you? Stupid fish! Serves you right!" Pintel seethed.

Jack approached the Kraken, feeling almost sorry for the beast. "Hello! I bet folk would pay a shilling to see this! And a second shilling for a sketch of 'em sitting atop!" Ragetti said excitedly.

"Kraken slayers! We could carve mini'ture Krakens out of coconut and sell those, too! We could give 'em a slice as a souvenir." Pintel offered.

"Or fried! For lunch." Ragetti said.

"I wonder which of the parts is edible?"

Jack ignored them, and found herself approaching its eye. A large black mirror, reflecting her own image. Suddenly, Jack felt slightly forlorn. She didn't react when Barbossa approached her. "Still thinking of running, Jack? Think you can outrun the world?" His words echoed. "The problem of being the last of anything: by and by, there be none left at all."  
>She didn't want to believe that. "Sometimes things come back. We're living proof of that, mate."<p>

"Aye, but that's a gamble with long odds, ain't it? There's no guarantee of coming back. But passing on, that's dead certain." Jack remained silent, contemplating what he had said. "The world used to be a bigger size."

"It's still the same size. There's just less in it." Jack hesitated, but looked back up to Barbossa. "Summoning the Brethren Court, is it?"

"Our only hope."

"That's sad commentary, in and of itself."

She never liked the Brethren Court. However, Barbossa merely patted her shoulder, and turned to walk away. Jack took a long, last look into the black orb of the Kraken, before turning away to follow Barbossa.


	6. A Silver Platter

**As always, beta'd by KappasRule**

**I do not own POTC**

The land party reached the well. Everything seemed normal- Marty stooped down to take a much-needed drink of water, but jumped with a shout when he noticed what lay inside the well. Barbossa sampled a handful of water, only to spit it out with distaste. "Poisoned. Fouled by the body."

They turned over the body. "Hey, I know him!" Pintel exclaimed. Some of the pirates recognized him as the traitor from Singapore, with a fid that had been driven into his eye. They heard a familiar shout, and turned their heads back to the beach. They found Ragetti, waving his arms and pointing towards the Black Pearl.

Past the Black Pearl, a Chinese Fighting ship anchored next to it. Jack and Barbossa stared disbelievingly at it, until they heard an alarming click. Tai Huang had pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the both of them. The rest of his men followed, and resounding clicks filled the air.

Jack blinked. "He's the captain." She said, pointing to Barbossa.

~*~

Everyone arrived back at the main deck of the Black Pearl. Chinese pirates have taken over the Black Pearl, their numbers would've easily overpowered them. Jack and Barbossa immediately spot Sao Feng. However, Jack tried to be inconspicuous behind Barbossa. "Sao Feng. You showing up here. 'tis truly a remarkable coincidence." Barbossa greeted.

"Fortune smiles upon those who meet its gaze." Sao Feng sagely remarked. He spotted Jack, and approached her darkly. "Jack Sparrow. You paid me great insult, once."

Without warning, Sao Feng slung his fist into her jaw. She staggered, her knees buckled, but she recovered before she could fall over. "So… now we can call it square." She breathed, fastening her jaw and standing back up.

"Hardly." He said.

Will strode up, and spotted Elizabeth. She was bound in chains. "She's not part of the bargain. Release her."

"And what bargain be that?" Barbossa asked.

"You heard Captain Turner. Release her." Sao Feng ordered his men.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Captain Turner?"

Gibbs nodded. "Aye, the perfidious rotter led a mutiny against us."

Jack frowned. "It's always the quiet ones."

Elizabeth, unchained now, eyed Will warily. "Why didn't you tell me you were planning this?"

"It was my burden to bear."

"The only way a pirate can make a profit these days, is by betraying other pirates." Barbossa stated.

Sao Feng shrugged. "I can live with that…. As long as I am not with other pirates."

"But you've no acrimony towards mutineers?" Jack asked.

"He did not mutiny against me, did he?" Sao Feng countered.

"I need the Pearl. That's the only reason I came on this voyage." Will said firmly.

Jack sighed. Of course. "He needs the Pearl," She turned to Elizabeth. "and you felt guilty," She frowned at Barbossa. "and you and your Brethren Court. Didn't anyone come to save me just because they missed me?"

Gibbs, Marty, and Cotton rose their hands. Pintel and Ragetti saw, and followed by shooting their arms up. Jack smiled, and pointed towards them. "I'm standing over there with them."

Sao Feng grabbed her arm before she could move. "I'm sorry, Jack, but there's an old friend who wants to see you first."

Jack furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm not certain I can survive any more visits from old friends."

"Here is our chance to find out."

~*~

Jack was shoved into the Captain's cabin of an all-too familiar East India Trading Company ship. The man in the room, Beckett, ordered his guards to leave. He now stood by the window, looking to the Black Pearl. Her effects, including the compass, lay on the table.

"Remarkable. The last I saw of that ship, she was on fire, a blackened hulk sinking beneath the water." Beckett commented. Jack winced, but began searching while he spoke.

"Thank you for that memory." She said.

"We had a deal. I contracted you to deliver cargo on my behalf. You chose to liberate it." He spoke calmly, but with venom.

Jack glanced toward her right wrist, the wrist with the permanent scar in the shape of a 'P' for pirate. "People aren't cargo, mate." She said firmly.

"And you incurred a heavy debt to raise her back up, didn't you? It's not here, Jack."

Beckett whirled around suddenly, so she immediately stopped searching, and took an innocent, questioning stance. "What isn't?"

"The heart of Davy Jones is safely aboard the Flying Dutchman, and so, unavailable for use as leverage to satisfy your debt to the good captain."

Jack smirked. "By my reckoning, that account's been settled."

"By your death. And yet, here you are."

She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Close your eyes and pretend it's all a bad dream. That's how I get by."

Beckett's voice rose. "Your good deed cost me much, Jack!"

"And you spared me any possibility of ending up as anything other than what I am. And for that, I thank you." She replied coolly. "Will someone be back in soon to draw you a bath?"

Beckett pursed his lips. "It would be nice if all of us could be on holiday year 'round, but someone must ensure that the world turns properly." He moved to his vintage map mural. "People are what they love, Jack, and what they love is cargo. They love spices, and linens, silks… plantains… and as long as it arrives on time and sufficient supply, they are content to be nothing more than figures in a ledger. You're a smart woman; you know I'm right."

She raised an eyebrow. "If you're offering me a seat on the board, I am neither depraved nor drunk enough to accept." He raised both of the glasses, which Jack had just noticed, that had been on the table the entire time. Beckett filled them up with a bottle of Sherry. Much to her surprise, he offered her a glass.

"Then perhaps you'll consider a different arrangement. One that requires nothing from you but information." He reasoned. She noticed the pieces of eight, the ones that Barbossa kept babbling on about, laying on Beckett's desk.

"Regarding the Brethren Court, no doubt. In exchange for fair compensation? Square my debt with Jones, guarantee my freedom?" She asked, disbelievingly.

"Of course. It's just good business." He said, smiling.

"Were I in a divulgatory mood, what might I indulge?"

"Everything. Where are they meeting? Who are the pirate lords? What is the purpose of the nine pieces of eight?" He asked.

Jack frowned. "I think I'd prefer to maintain my monopoly on those answers. It's just good business." She repeated his words.

"You haven't changed." He sneered. "Enjoy the gallows."

Jack sighed. "I've been. Once you've taken in the view, there's not much else to it. Now, far be it for me to give advice to you, but it I were me and you were you and we each had the same lack of trust in the other, imagine you are me. You would propose that rather than you telling me where the Brethren Court is meeting, you lead me there instead, whereupon you could serve up to me the pirate lords, the nine pieces of eight, and the whole of the Brethren Court on a silver platter. And you being me, I would likely accept the offer."

Beckett hummed. "On a silver platter?"

Jack nodded. "With a frilly linen napkin and a spicy banana on the side."

**The prequel to this- "Do You Fear Death?" is my third most favorited story... lol. In case you haven't read it, it would be encouraged. But not recommended, since I wrote that when I first joined fanfiction. On another note, I realized that this is going to be slightly different than the movie, because I am using an older script as a reference- when the movie was originally going to be called "Calypso's Wrath" or something. So yeah, some differences. **

**Anyways, please REVIEW~**


	7. Think like Jack

**Beta'd by KappasRule!**

**I do not own POTC**

"You can keep Barbossa. The belligerent homunculus and his friend with the wooden eye. And Turner. Especially Turner. If he were twins, you could have all three of 'em." Jack still conversed with her arch enemy.

Beckett nodded at that. "And what becomes of Miss Swann?"

Jack frowned. "What interest is she to you?" She shook her head. "The rest goes with me aboard the Pearl, and I will lead you to Shipwreck Cove. A fair deal, don't you think?" She thrust out her hand. Beckett smiled at it.

"Jack, I just recalled: I have this wonderful compass that points to whatever I want. So for what do I need you?"

She lifted a finger. "Points to the thing you want most. And that's not the Brethren Court, is it?"

"No? Then what is it, Jack?"

Jack smiled. "Me. Dead."

Stubbornly, Beckett pulled out the compass. By his reaction, it seemed to have pointed right at Jack. She shuffled to the side, and the needle followed her wherever she went. "Damn." He cursed. He tossed the compass to Jack. "Although it occurs: if I got what I wanted most, then wouldn't I wanted second most become the thing I wanted most? If I killed you, I can't find… Shipwreck Cove, was it? On my own. Cut out the middleman, as it were… literally."

Jack frowned. "With me killed, you'll arrive at the cove, find it's a stronghold, nigh impregnable, able to withstand blockade for years, and you'll be wishing, oh, if only there was someone who you had not killed inside to ensure that the pirates come outside."

Beckett blinked. "And you can accomplish this?"

Jack grinned. "You may kill me, but you may never insult me. Who am I?" She paused. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, mate. Do we have an accord?"

She re-extended her hand, looking slightly impatient. Beckett hesitated, but the ship rocked with sudden cannon fire and gun shots. Beckett fell forward, and Jack took his hand firmly. "Done!" She quickly scooped up her effects and headed out the door.

She walked out to the deck, with Beckett trailing close behind. Bodies littered the ground, a fight ensued on the Pearl, while the Empress sailed away. She stared at her ship, wondering how to get to it.

She shoved a gunner away from a cannon, kicked away the brace and faced the cannon to her ship. Finally, she wrapped a rope around the cannon wheel, a fuse lighter burning in her hand. Beckett whirled around just in time. His eyes widened slightly. "You're mad."

"Oh thank goodness. Because if I am in fact not living some wretched fever dream, I doubt this will work." Of course, she already realized how mad she was when she was in the locker.

Jack lit the cannon. Beckett dived out of the way as it fired, and the ball hit the mast behind it, causing the mast to crack. Recoil shoved the cannon violently back, and smashed the rail. Soon, it plummeted…

The pirate hung on for dear life. The rope pulled her up and out.

Back on the Pearl, Barbossa and a few other pirates noticed she landed back on the ship. However, there are a few crashing sounds and yelps of pain. He felt worried, so he decided to check on her.

However, he found that she was just fine. She stood up from her fall, and noticing his worried look, she smiled. "Tell me that you didn't miss me."

The moment was lost as Barbossa turned away in disgust.

She came up to Will, very highly unpleased. "Send this traitor to the brig." She watched as he was defiantly being dragged away.

~*~

Night came rather quickly. Jack heard movement on her deck, and decided to check it out. The noise she heard was Will, cutting rope and tying bodies onto barrels. She watched him for a moment, but soon crossed her arms and found a rail to lean on. "You escaped the brig even quicker than I expected." She commented.

He whirled around, expecting attackers. "Hold on, William. Don't you notice anything? Or, rather, do you not notice anything? Or, rather, do you notice something that is not there to be noticed?"

He lowered his knife. "You haven't raised the alarm."

"That's odd, isn't it?" She approached Will's handiwork. "But not so odd as this. You came up with this all on your lonesome?"

"I said to myself, think like Jack."

She shook her head. "And this is what you arrive at? Lead Beckett to Shipwreck cove so as to win his trust and accomplish your own ends? It's like you don't know me at all."

"Think like Jack, but do what's right."

"And how does your dearly beloved feel about your plan?" She asked. Will didn't answer. He returned to his work. "Ah. You've not seen fit to trust her with it."

He continued sawing. "I'm losing her, Jack. Every step I make for my father… is a step away from Elizabeth.

Jack looked sincere. "If you choose to lock your hear away, you will lose her for certain. But I might offer an exceedingly simple solution: Don't save your father."

Will pursed his lips. "I have to. I can't turn my back on him."

"'Can't' is a matter of fact. You can if you want, but you won't… and that makes it a choice. That's what life is, boyo: choices. Out of all the things you can do, what will you do?" She watched Will slump in defeat. "If I might lend a machete to your intellectual thicket: Avoid the choice altogether. Change the facts. Let someone else dispatch Jones."

"Who?" Will asked. Jack pointed a thumb to herself. "You?" He didn't seem like he could believe it.

"Death has a way of reshuffling one's priorities. I slip aboard the Dutchman, I find the heart and stab the beating thing. Your father goes free from his debt, and you are free to be with your charming murderess."

Will pursed his lips. "And you bind yourself to the Dutchman… forever."

She shook her head. "No, I am free forever. Free to sail the seas, beyond the edges of the map, free from death itself. Crew aboard the Dutchman is one thing, but Captain? Sign me up."

He looked at her disapprovingly. "You have to do the job. You have to ferry souls to the next world or end up just like Jones."

She paused, contemplating what he said. She stroked her own cheek, and imagined what it would be like if a slimy tentacle was there instead. She shivered. "I don't have the face for tentacles. Then I'll take on the obligation and not quite be completely free… but immortal has to count for something. Now, here." She took her own compass and placed it in his hands. He looked slightly startled.

"What's this for?"

Jack smiled. "Think like me. It'll come to you."

Before Will could realize what she intended to do, she shoved him overboard. Not a second later, she dumped the barrel over the side as well, which narrowly missed Will as he resurfaced. He hauled himself over the barrel, heaving breaths.

Jack leaned out, grinning at him. "Give my regards to Davy Jones!" She cheerfully waved at him, and then disappeared.

"I hate her." Will muttered as he floated away.

**Please review! I hope you liked this chapter~**


	8. The Brethren Court

**So anyway, I don't have a beta reader for this anymore. If anyone is interested, PM me. Other than that, Happy New Year! leave a review~**

**I do not own POTC**

On the aft deck, Jack and Gibbs stood by Cotton, who currently had the wheel in his hands. "Look alive and keep a careful eye! Not for nothing it's called Shipwreck Island, where lies Shipwreck Cove and Shipwreck City!"

Jack furrowed her eyebrows. "You know, for all that pirates are clever dogs capable of the most underhanded and duplicitous thinking… we are an unimaginative lot when it comes to naming things."

"Aye." Gibbs agreed.

Something caught Jack's eye, therefore causing her to eavesdrop the conversation. Tia Dalma caressed Barbossa's cheek seductively, and even though she wouldn't admit it, that erupted a pang of jealousy. "If you no longer want my favor, Barbossa, then perhaps I would be calling a different captain to my cause. Witty Jack would not turn down the promise to survive the coming storm, I think."

"I do not renege on a bargain once struck, but we agreed to end things only; the means are mine to decide." He said. Tia Dalma caught his wrist before he walked away. She squeezed, causing the flesh and bone of his forearm and hand to turn into some decayed, skeletal arm.

"Caution, Barbossa. Do not forget it was by my power you returned from the dead… or what it means if you fail me." She said. Thinking that her threat went through, she released his arm, and began to walk away. However, Barbossa caught her arm in a firm grip, and pulled her close. Jack didn't quite catch what he was saying, since he was whispering, but soon he called out, "Mr. Pintel! Mr. Ragetti! Take this… fishwife to the brig!"

"Step out, Mr. Cotton." She ordered, quickly taking the wheel. "There's some dangerous cross tides ahead that will prove a trick to navigate."

They sailed straight toward the cliff at Shipwreck Island. They then weaved into a tunnel inside the cliff. Gibbs glanced over the side. The cave they currently sailed through was most commonly known as Devil's throat. "Deep enough for the ship's draw. I would never have believed it."

"If you knew how many died making it deep enough… you'd believe." Jack said. They sailed toward the end of the tunnel, and emerged into the light.

Shipwreck Island was hollow, with a round water cove. Shipwreck city was constructed of broken, derelict, abandoned ships. Around the city, ships of different types, ethnicities, and sails anchored themselves. Pintel, Ragetti, and Jack find themselves staring at the bunch. "Look at them all!" Pintel cried in awe.

"There's not been a gathering like this in our lifetime." Barbossa said, joining them.

Jack felt really uncomfortable. "And I owe all of them money."

Inside the Brethren Court, Jack stabbed her sword into a large globe in the middle of the table. Other pirates did the same, chattering all the while to each other and their crewmates. Most seemed to be arguing and raising their voices.

Besides Jack, there was only one other woman who had the title pirate lord, and she was a blind, Chinese pirate.

Barbossa hammered the table with a bomb. The resulting BOOM caused Jack to flinch, but nevertheless did the work as everyone in the room quieted and turned their attention to him. "As he who issued summons, I convene this, the fourth Brethren Court. Your pieces of eight, my fellow Captains."

They passed the bowl around. The lords tossed their pieces of eight in: a queen of spades, a snuff box, the neck of the bottle with a cork still in, and other useless junk. "Those aren't pieces of eight. Those are just pieces of junk." Pintel noted.

"Aye, the original plan called for nine pieces of eight to bind Calypso, but when the first Court met, the Brethren were to a one skint-broke." Gibbs explained.

"So change the name." Pintel suggested bluntly.

"What, to nine pieces of whatever we happened to have in our pockets at the time? Oh, yes, that sounds real pirate-y." Gibbs said sarcastically.

Barbossa held out his hand to Ragetti. "Mr. Ragetti, if you will?"

"I kept it safe, like you said when you gave it to me." Ragetti said proudly.

"Aye, you have, but now I need it back." Barbossa said. Ragetti hesitated. Barbossa, however, held his hand under Ragetti's eye, slapped the back of his head, and caught the wooden thing after it popped out. He recklessly dropped the eye into the bowl.

"We're missing two, by the sound of it." The Chinese pirate, Mistress Ching noted.

"Sparrow."

Jack reached for the coin circlet on her headband, but she paused, considering her situation. She then dropped her hand. "We're still short on one Pirate Lord. I'm content to wait until he joins us."

"Sao Feng is dead."

Elizabeth Swann stood in the doorway, with Huang by her side. She had this grim, determined look on her face as she entered the room. "Before he died, he named me captain of the Empress, and passed his lordship onto me." She explained, before stabbing her sword into the globe.

"Captain? Captain? They're just giving the title away now." She said, still disbelieving her. Now, this made three women in the Brethren court.

"Sri Sambhajee inquires, by whose hand did Sao Feng perish?"

"Hers, I'll wager." She commented.

"Will you never forgive me?" Elizabeth said. "He fell to the Flying Dutchman."

This caused an enraged uproar. The one that stood up more than others, however, was, "With the Dutchman against us, there is no hope!"

"Listen! Listen to me! Our location has been betrayed. Jones, under the command of Lord Beckett, they are on their way here." Elizabeth exclaimed.

"Who is this betrayer?"

"Not likely anyone among us." Barbossa said. Jack's breath hitched in her throat, but she tried to act as inconspicuous as possible. The last thing she wanted was a bunch of angry pirates ready to murder her.

Elizabeth turned to Jack in sudden realization. "Where's Will?"

Jack shrugged. "Not among us."

"And it matters not how they found us! The question is, what will we do now that they have come?" Barbossa asked.

"We fight." Elizabeth said determinedly. The other pirates laughed at the comment. "Good men have already given their lives to this cause! They died in defiance of the Company. That's my measure of good." That silenced them. Jack raised an eyebrow at her.

"Shipwreck Cove is a fortress, a well-supplied fortress. There is no need to fight, if they can't get to us." Mistress Ching said.

"There be a third course." Barbossa said. "In another age, at this very spot, the first Brethren Court captured the sea goddess, and bound her in her bones. That was a mistake. We tamed the seas for ourselves, aye, yet opened the door for Beckett and his ilk. Better were the days when mastery of the seas came not through bargains struck with eldritch creatures, but by the sweat of a man's brow and the strength of his back alone. And you all know this be true!"

The others nod in consideration. "Gentlemen… ladies… we must free Calypso."

There is silence, and then everyone busted out in rage. However, the ones that stood out were, "Shoot him!" and "Cut out his tounge!"

Jack took both of those into consideration. "Shoot him, then cut out his tongue! Then shoot his tongue. And trim that scraggly beard."

"Sao Feng would have agreed to Barbossa." Huang said.

"Sao Feng's judgment in matters Calypso shouldn't be trusted, even if he were here." Elizabeth shot down, causing Huang to back up.

"Nonetheless, I would have agreed with Sao Feng."

"Calypso was our enemy then, she will be our enemy now."

"And her mood's not likely improved,_ n'est pas_?"

The argument escalated into a yelling melee, but even more into a full-blown brawl. This was one of the reasons why Jack didn't want to come. "This is madness." Elizabeth said.

"This is politics." Jack stated matter-of-factly.

"And meanwhile, our enemy is bearing down upon us." Elizabeth sighed.

"If they not be here already." Barbossa said.


	9. The Pirate King

**So um... yeah... beta'd by KappasRule... pls review~**

**I do not own POTC!**

"It was the first Court that imprisoned Calypso! We shall be the ones to set her free! And, in her gratitude, she will see fit to grant us boons!" Barbossa inquired.

Jack frowned. "Or at least grant 'em to the one of us who summoned the rest of us and connived all of us to set her free."

Aha, got him.

Barbossa shot her a glare, ignoring the suspicious looks from many of the other pirate lords. Jack shrugged. "It's not possible. Is it so probable?"

She was really testing his patience here. "If you have a better alternative, please, share." Barbossa said.

"Cuttlefish." Jack said. She gained many strange looks before going on. "Nasty little buggers. Pen 'em up together, and they'll devour each other without a second thought. So, yes, we could hole up here, well-provisioned and well-armed, and half of us will be dead within the month, and half of the other half dead the month after that."

She paused, expecting some sort of protest. However she was glad that no one spoke up against her, not even Barbossa or Elizabeth. "Or, we can release Calypso, and we can pray she'll be in a merciful mood. But we can pretend that she is anything other than a woman scorned, like which fury hell hath no? No, we cannot. _Res iso loquitur, tabula in naufragi_, we are left with only one option. I agree with-" She hesitated for a moment, voice caught in her throat. Soon she grumbled, "-Captain Swann…" But then, she said with a more determined look, "We must fight."

Barbossa stood there aghast. "You've always run away from a fight!"

"Slander and calumny! I have only ever embraced that oldest, noblest of all pirate traditions." Jack retorted, before turning back to her fellow pirate lords. "My fellow mariners and shellbacks, I submit that here, now, that is what we all must do. We must fight to run away!"

"And what be the target of this fight, eh?" Mistress Ching demanded.

"Lord Cutler Beckett." Elizabeth stated.

"Beckett is naught but a cog. Kill him, another takes his place. Like Jones, the East India Trading Company is immortal. It has no body to kick nor soul to damn." Chevalle pointed out.

Jack smiled. "Ah, but Jones does have a body, doesn't he? Such as it is."

"Yes! And should we kick it hard enough and long enough…" Jocard said, trailing off.

"If the Dutchman has no captain, what matters the Dutchman?" Ammand wondered.

Barbossa banged his cannon ball against the table to regain attention. "As per Code… an act of war, and this be exactly that, can only be declared by the Pirate King."

"You made that up." Jack detested.

"Did I know?" Barbossa smirked. "I call on Captain Teague, Keeper of the Code!" Jack's eyes widened, color flushed from her face. Barbossa grinned at this horrified face of hers.

"Sri Sumbhajee proclaims this be folly. We are not beholden to those ancient, outdated set of laws! Hang the Code! Are we not free to-"

A gun-shot rang in the air. Soon after, the man talking, Akshay, stiffened and collapsed. Everyone looked over to where the source of the gunfire came from, except for Jack. She seemed to be hiding for some reason.

The man himself, Captain Teague, stood in the doorway with his pistol still out and smoking. "The Code is law." He stated.

Another man stepped forward to interpret Sri Sumbhajee. "Sri Sumbhajee explains that a great misunderstanding has occurred, and avers that indeed the Code is the law."

Two pirates stepped into the room and placed a locked manuscript onto the table. Teague whistled, and a familiar prison dog appeared with a ring of keys in his mouth, just like always. He took the keys from the dog's mouth, and unlocked the manuscript. Soon he was flipping through pages and scanning words. "…ah…" He eventually found the page, and looked up. "Barbossa is right."

Before Teague could shut the book, Jack quickly stepped in to find out for herself. "'It be the duties of the King to declare war, parley with shared adversaries, co-ordinate forces'... Fancy that."

Teague pulled out a chair in the back of the Court. He also took out a mandolin and began to strum it. "There's not been a King since the first Court, and that's not likely to change." Chevalle said.

"Why not?" Elizabeth demanded.

"See, the King is elected by popular vote-" Gibbs began.

Barbossa cut him off. "-And each pirate only ever votes for himself."

"I call for a vote!" Jack quickly stated, completely pulling Barbossa's trigger.

Ammad raised his hand. "I vote for Ammad the Corsair."

"Captain Chevalle, the penniless Frenchman."

"Sri Sumbhajee declares for Sri Sumbhajee."

"Mistress Ching."

"Gentleman Jocard."

"Elizabeth Swann."

"Barbossa."

"Vallenueva."

"Elizabeth Swann." Jack said, putting her hands down. This shocked Elizabeth, but she was quick on the uptake.

"Done."

Cries of outrage and disbelief poured through the Court. When it was all over, Jack smiled. "Ah. Am I to understand, then, that we will not keep the code?"

The pirate lords exchanged looks, before Mistress Ching spoke up. "Very well. What say you, Captain Swann, King of the Brethren Court?"

Elizabeth looked around the room, taking everything in. She still couldn't believe that Jack had voted for her, after what she had done to her. She stood up, looking determined. "Prepare every vessel that can float. At dawn, we are at war."

"And so, we shall go to war!" Sumbhajee finally spoke up, but in a very high-pitched voice. No wonder he never speaks on his own.

"War!" Jocard yelled.

The pirates rose up, shouted in agreement, and slapped each other on the backs. Jack grinned victoriously at a glowering Barbossa, knowing that she had beaten him. But somehow, she felt guilty. None of them knew, but she had betrayed them.

She turned her back on the pirates, and closed her eyes. "There's more beneath the waterline here than you're letting on."

Jack opened her eyes back up, surprised to see Gibbs. A disappointed Gibbs, to be exact. "You used to have a honest streak, let a man knew where he stood with you. But I can't figure this at all."

"And where did that honest streak end me up? Dead." Jack snapped back.

"Jack-"

"Mr. Gibbs. You've a ship ready to battle, don't you?"

Gibbs's eyes widened, he was slightly taken aback. "Aye-aye, Captain."

With that, he left. However, Jack noticed Teague watching her, and assumed that he had heard the entire conversation. "What? You've seen it all. And survived. That's the trick, isn't it? To survive."

Teague pursed his lips. "It's not just about living forever, Jackie. The trick is, living with yourself forever." Jack frowned, letting the words sink in. After a moment, she finally considered leaving him.

Before long, everyone is ready and tidied up for battle. Their ships lined up side-by-side in the sea. Marty used his spy-glass to watch out for the East India Trading Company. Eventually, a single ship emerged from the fog. "The enemy has appeared! Let's take 'em!" He yelled.

Shouts and yells of approval echo all around. They all seemed strong, proud, and confident. However, it soon died down as many other ships… in fact dozens more appeared as the fog dissipated. To top it off, the Flying Dutchman emerged from the deep. It was an entire Armada, returning what the pirates had ten-fold.

Even though Jack didn't show, she inwardly winced as the confidence of each pirate died, and all eyes turned to her. Most of them were angry.

"Parlay…?" She offered.


	10. Parlay

**As always, Beta'd by KappasRule! Leave a review when finished~**

**I do not own POTC~**

They found a sparkling, white strip of sand that seemed to be a poor excuse of an island to parlay on. Both parties landed on opposite ends, so it took a while to meet up. But once they did, they silently regarded each other.

Cutler Beckett, Davy Jones, and Will Turner were on one side, while Elizabeth Swann, Hector Barbossa, and Jack Sparrow were on the other side. "You be the cur that led these wolves to our door." Barbossa said, directing this to Will.

"Don't blame Turner, he was merely a tool of your betrayal." Beckett explained coolly. "If you wish to see its grand architect… look to your left."

In silence, Elizabeth and Barbossa did as Beckett told them, and coincidentally, they found Jack standing there innocently. She looked to the left as well, but found no one. However, she looked back to find two pairs of eyes on her, both full of disappointment. "Me? My hands are clean in this. Figuratively." She said defensively.

"My actions were my own, to my own purpose. Jack had nothing to do with it." Will stated.

"There! Listen to the tool." Jack said, grinning victoriously.

Elizabeth frowned. "Will, I've been aboard the Dutchman… I understand the burden you bear. But I fear that cause is lost."

"No cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it."

A moment of contemplating silence passed.

"If Turner was not acting on your behalf, then how did he come to give me this?" Beckett asked, a little smug. He raised a familiar compass, something that Jack normally always had on her. Jack cringed slightly at the sight of her beloved object. "You made a deal with me, Jack, to deliver the pirates… and here they are. Don't be bashful; step up and claim your reward."

Beckett tossed the compass back to her. She easily caught it. "And what reward does such chicanery fetch these days?" Barbossa asked.

"Her." Beckett said, gesturing to Elizabeth. "When cannon smoke clears and the brethren slaughtered, off he sails on the Pearl, Elizabeth in his arms, and the blame dead square upon his rival."

"Even if that was my plan… and I'm not admitting anything… there's not a tinker's chance of it coming off anymore." Jack said, but then she glanced at Elizabeth. "Is there?"

"There never was." Beckett reprimanded.

"Your debt to me must still be satisfied. One hundred years in servitude aboard the Dutchman… as a start." Jones said. Just the sound of his voice sent shivers up Jack's spine. She never liked to talk about debts with anyone, especially Davy Jones.

"The debt was paid." She said sternly. Then, a little more brightly, "With some help."

"You escaped." Jones seethed.

Elizabeth piped in before they could continue their argument. "There's no better end for Jack Sparrow than bilge rat aboard the Flying Dutchman. I propose an exchange. Will leaves with us… and you can have Jack."

"Done." Will said.

Realizing just what Elizabeth said, Jack's eyes widened with shock and horror. "Not done."

"Done." Beckett said, slightly surprised.

Jack frowned. "Elizabeth, I thought we were friends. You're condemning me. Again."

Barbossa felt a pang of anger when he turned to Elizabeth. "Jack is one of the Nine Pirate Lords! You have no right."

Elizabeth smirked. "King."

He wordlessly backed off, with a grim expression. Jack curtsied, while doffing her hat to them in a show-like manner. "As you command, your nibs." She started to cross the sand toward Beckett, but Barbossa stopped her by grabbing her shoulder and whirling her around.

"Blaggar!" He pulled his sword out, making Jack slightly panicked.

Jack tried to escape him, but he was just too strong. The circlet coin that she had beaded into her hair had dropped to the ground, and without a moment to lose, the monkey came around and picked it up. She completely forgot that they brought Jack the monkey with them.

She lifted her eyes from where the coin was, to Barbossa. "If you have something to say, I might be saying something as well." He said, sheathing his sword.

"First to finish, then." Jack said.

Eventually, Will and Jack complete the trek across the sand. Jack moves to stand next to Beckett, trying to avoid Jones. However, Beckett noticed her distraught, and sidestepped, making a spot for her to stand in between him and Jones.

Jones leaned down to her, so they were face-to-face. Jack could feel the water from the wringing tentacles on his face. "Do you fear death?" As he spoke, water occasionally sprayed into her face.

She didn't want to deal with him right now, so she inched away. "You have no idea."

Beckett addressed Will, Elizabeth, and Barbossa. "Advise all your 'Brethren': you can fight, and all of you will die. Or all of you can not fight, in which case only most of you will die."

"You murdered my father." Elizabeth seethed.

"He chose his own fate." Beckett stated.

"And you've chosen yours. We will fight… and surely you will die." She stated grimly.

Beckett pursed his lips into a thin line. "So be it."

Jack very much detested the Flying Dutchman, and especially its captain, the reason of her demise, Davy Jones himself. He's the solid reason why she's got trust issues. But, everything was going along with her plan, and she very much liked it that way.

She was thrust into the cell, in the brig of the Flying Dutchman. Oysters and Barnacles littered on the walls, moss and mold made everything seem a little green. "Bravo!"

Jack whirred her head to the right, to find an exact copy of herself. She leaned against the bars. "You have arrived aboard the Flying Dutchman as per overall scheme."

"Oh, yes, bravo!"

Another Jack had appeared on her left. "Except for this little sojourn in the brig, it's utter clockwork."

Right Jack stated, "But we've got momentum on our side!"

Sudden movement and cracking coming from the wall received attention from the three Jacks. A fourth popped off the wall, seeming to be part of the ship. Her brain remained exposed. "Stab the heart!" Her voice sounded old and frail. "Step foot ashore but once every ten years. But if you're in the brig, then who's to stab the heart?"

Left Jack said, "It does seem to put immortality a bit out of reach."

"Poppycock." Right Jack muttered.

"Poppycock?" Jack asked.

"She's never said 'poppycock'." Left Jack stated matter-of-factly.

"I've never even thought of 'poppycock'." Jack said, feeling exasperated.

"Just then, you did."

"I did not-"

A sharp pain shot through their heads then. The three of them held their heads and yelled in pain. Then they turn to see the Jack in the ship. For some reason, she was poking and prodding at the brain. This was going to be a long night.

"The whelp." Jack said.


End file.
